


Rest

by SkyLeaf



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23949925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyLeaf/pseuds/SkyLeaf
Summary: Ignoring the fact that she could barely stand up without coming dangerously close to having her knees buckle under her to instead claim that she was perfectly able to go to work, thank you very much, was such a Midna thing to do that it should really not have come as a surprise to Zelda when she found her girlfriend insisting that she felt fit enough to do just that.
Relationships: Midna/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 9





	Rest

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little fic I wrote because I was not feeling great, so I wanted to write something about one of my favourite couples.

When Midna stopped to sneeze for the sixth time in the same number of minutes, Zelda felt that it was time for her to place her cup of coffee back down onto the counter and send her a long look.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah?” somehow, even in between two sneezes, Midna managed to pour just the right amount of surprise into the word to almost make it seem like she was not swaying back and forth slightly, reaching out to plant her hand on top of the kitchen counter next to her in an attempt to stay upright. “Why are you asking?”

Gesturing both towards the way Midna looked like she was one wrong move away from passing out and how she had grabbed the roll of kitchen paper, dragging it closer to herself so that she would be ready to use it to mask the sneeze that would surely come in just a few seconds, Zelda shook her head. “Maybe because you look like you need to go back to bed and stay there for the rest of the day.”

“Oh, well, this is nothing, really. I am just not feeling that good, but I am sure that it is just a minor thing. It will pass once I get some fresh air.”

Zelda crossed her arms. “Are you sure? Because to me, it looks like you are quite sick.”

“Totally sure,” Midna said, the effect of how she nodded her head to emphasise her words only slightly lessened by how she had to pause in the middle of the sentence to cough and press a hand to her forehead before continuing, “besides, I bet Zant that I would not have to stay at home for the rest of this month, so I have to go to work no matter what.”

Although Zelda understood the words individually, it was almost like they did not make any sense to her when combined like that. Was Midna actually telling her that the reason she had assured Zelda that everything was fine when she had been woken up to the sound of Midna coughing so violently that it sounded like she was trying to cough up a lung was some bet she had made with a co-worker?

“You what?” Zelda did not even make an attempt not to let the disbelief show through both the sound of her voice as well as the way she sent Midna a long glare. “Please tell me that you are not actually thinking about going to work while looking like you could fall over at any moment because Zant of all people said that you would not be able to do it.”

But Midna simply shrugged in response. “All right, then I won’t say it,” she chuckled before being interrupted by yet another coughing fit, a pause Zelda used to supress a sigh, “but, just for your information, Zant is not just some co-worker.” when Zelda raised an eyebrow, Midna groaned like it should already have been obvious to her before elaborating. “He is the son of the boss and acts like it. Just yesterday, he told me that I am bad at spelling—and I _know what you are going to say_ ,” she raised a finger, sending Zelda a glare, “but you should look at some of the things he has written. I can barely understand any of the emails I get from him, so I have no idea why he has decided that he should be the one to inform me that my spelling leaves a lot to be desired.”

“And that is why you are so adamant that you will have to go to work even though everyone will be able to see that you should have stayed at home?”

Midna smiled at her, but as she stood there, placing almost half of her bodyweight on the counter, clearly struggling to remain upright, it looked more like a grimace, her way of gritting her teeth and trying to summon everything tough in her rather than a sign of happiness. “No, I am going to work because he told me that he would bet me ten Rupees that I would not be able to make it through the rest of the month without any sick days. Come on, Zelda, I just told you that.” from the way Midna cocked her head as she added the last sentences, Zelda was sure that it had been meant as a joke, but as the last half was swallowed by the sound of Midna sneezing again, it ended up sounding nothing like Midna’s usual tone of voice.

“And you decided that ten Rupees are something you are willing to risk your health to win?”

“No, I am willing to risk my health to be able to tell Zant that he was wrong all along and that he should also stop criticising my way of spelling things.”

“That is such a bad idea,” Zelda told her. But even as she shook her head, she already knew that there was nothing she could say that would make Midna change her mind. Not with the way Midna’s eyes were shining, something that looked like it was only halfway caused by the fewer that had covered her forehead with a small layer of cold sweat with the other half being sheer determination. There was nothing that would be able to stop her from going through with her plans of going to work, except, perhaps, for the apocalypse, and even then, Zelda could not help but doubt whether or not that would have been enough to keep Midna from at the very least attempting to make it to work. And, seeing as there was little she could do to change her decision, Zelda might as well just accept it, “but would I be wrong to assume that nothing I can say will be enough to make you change your mind?”

“Nope,” Midna answered, popping the ‘p’, “there isn’t.” Turning around to cast a glance out of the window, she pushed herself away from the counter, almost, but not completely, managing to hide the amount of willpower she had to put into the small movement of crossing the kitchen to extend her hand towards Zelda. “I do want to kiss you goodbye or at the very least give you a hug, but,” she said, gesturing towards her face, “given all of _this_ , I think that you might actually be better off if we kept the physical contact to a minimum.”

That elicited a tiny smile from Zelda as she responded by quickly reaching out to let her hand brush against Midna’s. “You are probably right.”

In what felt like an awfully short time for someone who looked like the only thing they should be doing right then was to go back to bed and then stay there, perhaps with something to soothe their throat, Midna had turned around and made her way over to the door, a barrier that seemed to take her a little longer to figure out how to get past as she fumbled with the keys. Even from where she was standing, only able to see the back of Midna’s head due to the half wall between them, Zelda could still see how the coldness of the morning air that met her as she finally forced the door open made Midna shiver with cold, and, not for the first time, Zelda found herself wishing that they had a car so that she could at least make sure that Midna would not have to spend twenty minutes outside while riding her bicycle to and from work.

As the door closed with a soft thud behind Midna, Zelda shook her head and tried not to worry too much. After all, Midna knew what she was doing and if she began to feel worse, Zelda was sure that, no matter how much time Midna spent complaining about him, Midna’s boss would make sure to tell her to go home.

It was with that comforting thought that Zelda went back to her own breakfast, doing her best to enjoy the last five minutes before she too would have to leave for work. Of course, as much as she tried, Zelda was not able to completely ignore the little worry that continued to interrupt her thoughts, but she did her best not to think too much about it.

+++

Work was uneventful to say the least, just an endless, mindless tasks of going to make sure the printer was still working, bringing paper back to Thelma sitting next to her before then repeating the process over and over again, so when Zelda turned around the corner, putting a little bit more force into each push as she forced the bicycle up the steep hill of the road, she was more than ready to get home and maybe prepare something for when Midna got home later in the evening. Just last week, she had mentioned a recipe her mother had liked to make when she was younger, and if Zelda was quick, she might be able to call her, get the recipe, and then prepare the dish for when Midna stepped in through the door.

Zelda nodded to herself. It sounded like a plan, and as long as she had most of the ingredients at home already, she was almost entirely certain she would be able to have it ready in time for when Midna got home.

The sight of Midna’s bike parked in front of their house brought an end to any plans of surprising her.

Jumping off her own bicycle, Zelda made her way up to the front door, only to find it unlocked. Making sure not to make any more noise than what was strictly necessary, she pushed open the door with her shoulder, stepping into the kitchen while glancing around her.

Midna was not there, and so, after pausing for a moment to kick off her shoes and drop her bag next to the coat rack, Zelda continued further into the house.

The sound of Midna coughing, the sound only slightly muffled by what Zelda assumed to be Midna pressing her sleeve in front of her mouth, led her into the bedroom, and, sure enough, there she found Midna halfway buried underneath a pile of duvets and quilts.

Upon hearing Zelda enter the room, Midna turned to the side, or at least she turned her head as much as the duvet she had wrapped around herself would allow her to. Her eyes were red, a stark contrast to the way her skin had turned pale, and how she was shaking even with all of the quilts stacked on top of her.

“You were right,” Midna admitted, speaking with a nasal twang to her voice, “I was sick.”

Trying her best not to smile at the way Midna was able to make even the simple act of admitting when she did not feel good sound like she had been forced to eat raw onions, Zelda walked over to crouch down next to the bed, bringing her at eye level with her girlfriend.

“Really?”

“Really,” Midna confirmed, “Ganondorf asked me to go home and stay there until I would no longer risk infecting the rest of the office just a couple of hours after I had arrived.” she was interrupted by a cough, but once she was no longer shaking, trying to force the phlegm out of her throat, she did send Zelda a weak smile. “I suppose I should be bitter about having lost the bet to Zant, but… I have to admit that it felt pretty great to be able to leave rather than having to stay until my shift ended.”

“I am glad you think so,” Zelda said, and there was no part of it that was anything but the truth, “but is there anything I can do for you now?” she reached out to take Midna’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Do you want anything? A book, your phone, anything?”

Midna looked up at her, blinking a couple of times. Zelda could almost see how the fewer was making her have to use all of her energy to simply be able to focus and piece the words together to form a sentence as she spoke, the words coming out in a slow, monotone tone of voice. “Could you… maybe get me a cup of tea?”

“Of course. Is there anything in particular you want?” Zelda had already halfway moved to stand up, looking down at Midna as a small smile tucked at the corners of her lips. Seeing the way Midna mirrored the expression, albeit in a much more tired variant did manage to calm her worries. She was going to be fine.

“Surprise me.”

“I will try my best.”

As she closed the door behind her, trying her best to give Midna some peace, Zelda could not help but shake her head at her girlfriend’s antics. All of this just for a chance to be able to gloat over Zant when the month was over. She really could not begin to understand what had made Midna decide that it had been a good idea to leave the house in the first place, but when she sat down to wait for the water to boil, Zelda knew that she would not have changed a single thing about her.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you are all feeling well and aren't sick. If you are, then I hope that you will feel better soon :)


End file.
